media industries Flashcards
social and cultural contexts:
when has the global video game industry been growing?
since the early days of Atari home entertainment in the 1980s
social and cultural contexts:
what has happened in recent years?
the diversity of game genres and platforms on which they can be played has meant an explosion in the gaming industry
social and cultural contexts:
what are expected based on a 2015 economic forecast?
video games sales are expected to reach $90 billion by 2020
social and cultural contexts:
what is considered for the 25% of the global population?
in 2014, it was calculated there were 1.8 billion gamers in the world
social and cultural contexts:
how does the 25% of the population challenge the stereotype of gamers as young geeky men?
In 2018 in the USA, 28% of gamers were under 18, but 23% were over 50 years old.
There was a 66/44% male/female gender split
social and cultural contexts:
what is the gender spilt?
There was a 66/44% male/female gender split
social and cultural contexts:
what are the range of genres?
first-person-shooters to puzzles and learning tools - has varied the demographic for gamers
social and cultural contexts:
why are the variety of platforms having the growth of the industry?
variety of platforms - not just home consoles, but on tablets and smartphones - that high quality, complex and engaging games can be accessed has also led to the growth of the industry
social and cultural contexts:
what has increasingly become a social activity?
gaming
social and cultural contexts:
what was Ultima Online considered in 1997?
how did this impact in the long term?
the first on-line multiplayer game, and since then socialising in the game world has become an everyday activity for millions of people, usually geographically far apart
social and cultural contexts:
what has people develop in games?
develop alliances, friendships and even romantic relationships as their game characters
social and cultural contexts:
what is ‘eSports’?
live competitive gaming events between celebrity players
social and cultural contexts:
how has eSports becoming popular?
attracting millions of viewers
through sites like Twitch and even packing huge stadiums like traditional sporting events
Consider the impact of new technology and convergence:
what is one of the things that have made Fortnite so popular?
the ability to access the game from consoles, PCs, laptops, smartphones or tablets
Consider the impact of new technology and convergence:
what you can download it for?
a range of operating systems, can move,
mid-game, between devices without interrupting gameplay.
Consider the impact of new technology and convergence:
what is technologically convergence?
can be played at home, or on the move, on a tiny screen or a video projector.
Consider the impact of new technology and convergence:
what is epic game’s operating system called?
Unreal Engine
Consider the impact of new technology and convergence:
why does epic games have an operating system?
to develop Fornite
Consider the impact of new technology and convergence:
why have they made their operating system available on their website?
encourage their audience to use it to develop their own games
Consider the impact of new technology and convergence:
what has unreal engine been used by?
professional game developers to create titles
like Batman: Arkham City and Infinity Blade
Consider the impact of new technology and convergence:
what is fornite a good example of?
cross-media convergence, where more than one media brand or form joins to promote each other
Consider the impact of new technology and convergence:
what are they considered on YouTube and Twitch?
why?
most viewed game on YouTube, and has also used streaming platforms like Twitch to broadcast live competitions.
who owns Twitch?
Amazon
Consider the impact of new technology and convergence:
how has fornite incorporated other media brands and franchises?
had a collaboration with Marvel Studios, there was a special Avengers: Infinity War segment and recently a tie-in with Godzilla
Consider the impact of new technology and convergence:
what does the format of Fornite means?
that any kind of costumes, weapons and games can be introduced to keep the game fresh
Consider the impact of new technology and convergence:
what do films/TV/sports promote?
their brands to over 20 million of players, whilst famous collaborations keep Fortnite in the news and social media
Consider the impact of new technology and convergence:
who does epic games have a good relationship with?
various non-gaming celebrities such as Drake and basketball star Ben Simmons. This helps to promote the game beyond the traditional gaming marke
Consider Epic Games as an institution:
who started epic games? and when?
Tim Sweeney
1991
Consider Epic Games as an institution:
when was epic games originally run from?
his parent’s house
Consider Epic Games as an institution:
what do these humble beginnings may explain?
Epic’s decision to make the Unreal Engine available to amateur games designers
Consider Epic Games as an institution:
what did the Guinness Book Of Records named Unreal Engine in 2014?
the ‘most successful videogame engine’
Consider Epic Games as an institution:
what do epic games own?
video game developer Chair Entertainment and cloud-based software developer Cloudgine
Consider Epic Games as an institution:
where are epic game’s sub-studios?
UK, Japan, and Germany
Consider Epic Games as an institution:
who is Tencent?
a Chinese investment company
Consider Epic Games as an institution:
what do Tencent focused on?
internet and AI development
Consider Epic Games as an institution:
what did Tencent do in 2012?
bought a 42% stake in Epic
Consider different funding and profit models:
what is Fornite an example of?
‘Games as a Service’ (GaaS) model
Consider different funding and profit models:
what is the GaaS model?
where there is a constant revenue stream from ‘in- game purchases’ after the initial purchase (or providing the game for free)
Consider different funding and profit models:
why are some of these purchases a ‘micro transactions’?
where players pay for weapon, costume
and game upgrades rather than ‘grinding through’ the gameplay to score them
Consider different funding and profit models:
why do players use V-bucks?
to purchase these items
Consider different funding and profit models:
how can v-bucks be earned?
in the game or bought using ‘real world’ money.
Consider different funding and profit models:
what is another game which points can be earned the same as Fornite?
candy crush
Consider different funding and profit models:
what is unusual in fornite?
the upgrades are purely ‘cosmetic’ i.e. they don’t actually affect the gameplay.
Consider different funding and profit models:
what do they often consist of?
new ‘skins’ (to alter your character’s appearance) and ‘emotes’ (victory dance moves after a kill)
Consider different funding and profit models:
what do the skins and emotes only available for?
so, what does this increase?
only available for a short period of time, increasing their value and encouraging players to pay rather than ‘grind’ for them
Consider different funding and profit models:
what is another revenue steam for GaaS titles?
offer ‘season passes’
Consider different funding and profit models:
what are season passes?
like a subscription that allows you to access new content over the course of a period of gameplay (the ‘season’) that play-for-free users can’t access
Consider different funding and profit models:
what do fornite offer players during the course of the season? (3)
‘battle passes’ and then drip-feeds limited edition and exclusive content to these players over the course of the season
Consider regulation of the media:
what are age ratings?
are systems used to ensure that entertainment content, such as computer games, are clearly labelled by age according to the content they contain
Consider regulation of the media:
what do age ratings provide?
guidance to consumers (particularly parents) to help them decide whether or not to buy a particular product
Consider regulation of the media:
what does the rating on a game confirm?
that it is suitable for players over a certain age
Consider regulation of the media:
when and where was the PEGI system incorporated?
2012 into UK law
what is the PEGI system?
Pan European Game Information system to give games their age ratings
Consider regulation of the media:
why was the video standards council appointed as the statutory body?
responsible for the age rating of video games in the UK using the PEGI system
Consider regulation of the media:
what is fornite’s PEGI rating?
12
Consider regulation of the media:
why is this PEGI rating given to fornite?
frequent scenes of mild violence
Consider regulation of the media:
what are parents more concerned with?
issues surrounding addiction than the levels of violence
